Ravichandran Ashwin going to Kings XI Punjab for Rs 7.6 cr and Gautam Gambhir going to Delhi Dareveils for Rs 2.8 cr made headlines on the first morning of IPL Auction. Indian Premier League 2018 auctions kicked off on January 27. The shocking news that came in from the first mornings of the auctions was the fact that Chris Gayle and Joe Root went unsold. Day 1 was as heated as it could get. It seemed Kings XI Punjab was the most aggressive franchisee when it came to auctions along with, Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad.
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Among the cricketers who got sold, Gautam Gambhir and Ravichandran Ashwin were the first to react as they took to their social accounts. Gambhir, who was not retained by Kolkata Knight Riders via RTM went to his home side Delhi for Rs 2.8 cr. It felt he did not sell for a big amount, owing to the fact that he is not playing cricket for the national side and also the fact that he is at the twilight of his career.
He wrote, ‘I AM BACK’. The surprising thing was he wrote it in bold which symbolised he was happy to be back for Delhi.
I AM BACK @DelhiDaredevils @IPL
— Gautam Gambhir (@GautamGambhir) January 27, 2018
Ravichandran Ashwin who is in South Africa with the Indian team, seemed to be following the IPL developments taking place in India because as he sold for Rs 7.6 cr to Kings XI Punjab, an elated Ashwin took to Twitter and posted, “The auction is always a house of casino, I am happy that @lionsdenkxip will be my new home and thank you so much @ChennaiIPL for all the great memories.” It seems like Gambhir, Ashwin too is happy to be playing for CSK, a team that has given him numerous memories.
The auction is always a house of casino, I am happy that @lionsdenkxip will be my new home and thank you so much @ChennaiIPL for all the great memories. #IPLAuction
— Ashwin Ravichandran (@ashwinravi99) January 27, 2018
It seems most of the teams will start building a core unit from scratch considering the number of shuffles that have taken place.
